She Wasn't There
by JWolf28
Summary: IM AU One-shot. Pepper wasn't there when he came home.


**A/N: So, this is set in the movie verse and I don't have any idea what Pepper's past is like in the movies or the comics, so this is obviously an AU. I've had it finished for a while, but I was hesitant to post for some reason I don't know. So, let me know what you think.**

Tony painfully stood from the wheelchair and looked about the private airport, a frown becoming evident on his previously blank face. "Rhodey, where's Pepper? I thought she'd be here. I am her boss after all. And I've been missing, held hostage. Did she find a new job already? Because I'll make sure she comes back."

Rhodey pursed his lips and sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you back on the plane, Tony."

Tony frowned heavily now. "What happened? Did she—did she move away, get married? What?"

"Pepper's house was broken into a couple of weeks after you went missing. She was there. It looks like a robbery gone wrong."

Tony felt like his heart was being pierced by the metal that already threatened to kill him. "Is she… dead?"

Rhodey shook his head and Tony blew out a sigh of relief. "You scared me for a minute there. I thought I was going to have to find a new assistant. You know I hate-"

"She's in a coma, Tony. They don't think she'll wake up."

Tony froze a moment before pulling his friend with him as he walked towards the car Happy was waiting by. He got in, making Rhodey follow. "Okay, Happy, I want you to take me to Pepper. And I want an American cheeseburger. Pepper first. You can bring me the cheeseburger when I'm there. Rhodey, I want you to tell me everything about what happened."

Happy started driving and Rhodey sighed again. "A few weeks after you left, Pepper was attacked when she went home. Her house had been broken into, but she didn't notice the broken window when she was coming in. It was dark outside; she had been working late at your office, trying to get everything in order. Obadiah had been working the poor girl into an early grave."

Tony grimaced. "Let's not talk about Pepper's grave right now. Finish the story."

"From what I could see from JARVIS' recordings, she interrupted the robber when he was going through her jewelry box. She walked into her room and screamed when she saw him. He knocked her head against the bedside table, shot her in the chest, and left. JARVIS called the police and she was taken to the hospital.

"She was awake for a short time after they fixed her up. I talked with her. She said to call her if I got an update on you. The doctors kept me posted on her condition and only a few hours after I left, she fell into the coma. She's been like that since. They say her brain activity is still high, but they don't know if she'll ever really wake up. She took quite a bit of damage from the head wound."

They arrived at the hospital then, and Tony jumped out of the car, ignoring the pain in his limbs, and demanded to know where Pepper was. He was taken to her room in the ICU and was stunned to silence at the sight of his Pepper so peaceful, yet terribly unmoving on the bed. Her strawberry blonde hair was spread across the pillow and Tony felt a horrific sense of guilt at how he had treated her before he was held prisoner. She worked hard and tolerated all his quirks and antics, and never asked for a thing in return. She took her monthly paycheck and didn't ask for anything other. Even when he forgot her birthday.

Tony pulled up a chair beside Pepper's bed and set in for a long wait. Because he wasn't going anywhere until she woke up. He hadn't realized before he left, but he was in love with Pepper Potts. Completely over the moon for her. He couldn't stand to think that she wouldn't be there with him and those few moments when he thought she was dead had been the worst in his life, the entire time he was held included. Then he'd had Yinsen to keep him company and joke with and here he was supposed to have Pepper. But he didn't because she was in a coma and Yinsen had died in that cave. But he wouldn't let that keep him away from her. He wasn't one to take no for an answer and he would stay by her side until those beautiful azure eyes opened and he could talk to her again.

* * *

Three days, four hours, seventeen minutes, and forty-three seconds. That was how long Tony had to wait. He sat in her room the entire time, not saying a word, making Happy retrieve whatever he needed to keep going. Tony had fallen asleep and woken up to a soft hand in his own. He frowned, not remembering taking Pepper's hand before falling asleep and turned his eyes to her face.

Pepper watched him, joy clear on her face and tears in her eyes. At first, the tears had alarmed him and he'd scooted closer to her bedside, panicking internally. "Are you okay? Do you hurt anywhere? Do you need me to get the doctor? Or pain medication? I can get that too."

Pepper had weakly shaken her head, her voice soft from disuse. "I'm fine. When did you get back? Are _you_ okay?"

Tony chuckled softly. "Am _I_ okay? Pep, I'm going to be fine. I'm a little bruised now, but I'll be back to normal before you know it. You are who I'm asking about, Pepper. You're the one who's been in a coma. Not me; you."

Pepper's brow crinkled in confusion. "I've been in a coma?"

Tony nodded. "I was gone about three months. You were in a coma for two of them. And the three days, four hours, eighteen minutes, and twenty-one seconds since I got here."

Pepper grinned and laughed softly. "I'm not the one who was attacked by terrorists and held hostage."

"Well, you almost were. If you consider a robber attacking you a terrorist. And I do. Nobody attacks my assistant and gets away with it. JARVIS made sure they were caught. He's in jail now on an attempted murder charge."

Pepper nodded. "That's good." She tried (and failed) to sit up. "When do you want me back at work?"

Tony's eyes widened and he scowled. "You're not coming back anytime soon. Not until you are fully healed and a doctor clears you." Tony frowned down at his hands. "You're all I have left."

Pepper covered his hand with hers. "You're all I have too."

Tony looked up sharply. "What?"

"You're all I have too. My father was a firefighter on duty during the attack on the twin towers. He was in there, trying to get everyone out. He didn't make it. My mom died a week after of a heart attack. I only had one sibling and he died of pneumonia when we were eight. He was my twin brother."

Tony's mouth dropped open. "You never told me that."

Pepper shrugged slowly. "It just wasn't something to be brought up." She looked at him thoughtfully and raised a shaking hand to his cheek. "You've changed."

It wasn't a question and Tony knew that. He held her hand to his face and resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and never let go. "I had a lot of time to think about things and I realized something, if you don't mind me telling you."

Pepper's eyes urged him on and he bit the inside of his cheek. "The entire time I was in that cave, there was one person on my mind. You. You were the thought that kept me going. If I survived, I'd get to see you again. If I was stupid enough to get myself killed, I would never see you again and that is something I couldn't deal with."

Pepper's eyes widened and Tony plowed ahead, undeterred, and took her hands in his. "When I got off the plane and you weren't there, I wondered if maybe you'd gotten a job or gotten married or something. At the time, that was the worst I could think of. Then Rhodey told me that you'd been attacked and it looked like a robbery gone bad. He didn't tell me you were in a coma. He didn't tell me you were alive and for a couple of seconds I thought you were dead. It was the worst thought in the world and I hope I never have to think it again because for those few moments I thought I had lost everything I cared about. Everything that meant anything to me. I would give away my cars, my money, my mansion, everything to keep you safe and happy. Everything. I think I'm in love with you Pepper Potts. I know it sounds-"

Pepper silenced Tony by using what little strength she had to lean forward and press her lips softly to his. It was only for a second or two before she had no strength left, but it meant the world for Tony. He helped her lay back on the bed and grinned like, well, a man in love. Pepper smiled tiredly at him. "I love you too, Tony. I just never knew you felt the same way."

Tony smiled brightly and clutched Pepper's hand to his as she drifted off once more. Just sleeping, he assured himself. She wasn't in a coma anymore. That was past and what was yet to come was what he was looking forward to the most.


End file.
